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Technology Stocks : Leap Wireless International (LWIN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Michael Allard who wrote (2576)11/13/2002 4:09:54 PM
From: Mr. Sunshine  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 2737
 
Michael, there is some hope in the paragraph you quoted, unfortunately it offers hope only for customers and employees, not for shareholders.

The report also says that "...management has requested a small equity participation for the Leap common stockholders in a restructuring..."

I am reading this as the BEST the shareholders will do is get massive dilution. The worst, and probable, result is that shareholders will get nothing. I also could not find a reference to subscriber/customer growth, or number of current subscribers in the release. I skimmed the release and may have missed the subscriber numbers, but I doubt it. In the past Leap has really highlighted subscriber growth, and the fact that they did not in this report was the final straw. I sold all my shares @ 0.28, except for the few shares in my retirement account from the original spinoff.

Good luck to everyone.



To: Michael Allard who wrote (2576)11/13/2002 11:26:08 PM
From: Jon Koplik  Respond to of 2737
 
Wireless Week story on Leap's third quarter results.

Leap Reports 3Q Results, Progress In Restructuring

BY WIRELESS WEEK STAFF

NOVEMBER 13, 2002
NEWS@2 DIRECT

Leap Wireless International is adding new customers as it progresses through a
restructuring, but its churn rate remains a relatively high 4.5 percent.

Leap today reports net customer additions of about 45,000, ending the third
quarter with about 1.497 million Cricket customers, up from the 1.452 million
customers the company reported as of June 30.

Leap's adjusted net loss during the third quarter was $155.6 million, or $3.46 per
share, which was $5.2 million, or 97 cents per share, less than the net loss
reported for the comparable period in the prior year.

Billed average revenue per user per month was about $37.80 compared to
$38.37 reported for the previous quarter. Overall cost per gross customer
addition was $312.

Leap has struggled since it halted interest payments on its vendor financing and
was forced to issue shares to MCG PCS to resolve a $41 million spectrum
dispute. Also still recovering from major subscriber fraud, the company hopes a
new calling plan and billing process will improve its bottom line.

The company started offering Cricket Talk, a plan that includes unlimited local
calling, 500 minutes of domestic long distance and a package of calling features
for $39.99 per month.

Under the new billing method, new and reactivating customers receive a bill for
service early in their monthly billing cycle with payment due by the last day of the
billing cycle. As a result, the first month of Cricket service no longer will be
included in the purchase of the Cricket phone.

Despite its troubles, Leap Chairman and CEO Harvey White says the company is
confident it can come through its restructuring a stronger company. The company
says it expects to restructure its indebtedness and capital structure in such a way
that would allow it to emerge from the restructuring with reduced indebtedness.
No restructuring deal has yet been reached, however.

A hearing on Leap's proposed Nasdaq delisting is scheduled for tomorrow.

© 2002 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.



To: Michael Allard who wrote (2576)11/13/2002 11:29:35 PM
From: Jon Koplik  Respond to of 2737
 
RCR Wireless News on Leap's results.

Leap reports smaller net loss; customer additions drop

November 13 13:09:00, 2002


SAN DIEGO—In the midst of a corporate restructuring, Leap Wireless International Inc. reported $155.2 million in total revenues for the third quarter, more than double the $66.7 million it posted for the same quarter last year. Net losses dropped from $160.7 million last year, a loss of $4.43 per share, to $143 million this year, a loss of $3.18 per share.

The carrier’s improving financial results came despite a drop in customer additions from 252,000 last year to 45,000 customer additions this year. The decrease in customer additions was in part due to an increase in customer churn from 3.2 percent last year to 4.5 percent this year. Average revenue per user increased slightly from $37 last year to $37.80 this year, while the cost per gross customer addition increased from $252 during the third quarter of 2001 to $312 this year.

Leap said it hopes to drive down customer churn and increase revenues with a number of recently introduced initiatives including a new billing cycle that will effectively eliminate its previous first month of free service with activation; a one-year contract for its recently launched Cricket Talks that included an early termination fee; and a $15 non-refundable activation fee for both new customers and those who switch service plans. “During this challenging period in the industry and for our company, our Cricket service remains a high-quality, affordable wireless offering and we continue to lead the industry in landline replacement,” said Harvey White, chairman and chief executive officer of Leap Wireless. “We remain confident that we can, through our restructuring efforts, create a stronger Cricket company better positioned for the future that will continue to offer quality service to our customers and provide good opportunities for our employees.”

Leap also reported it was in default of its credit agreements at the end of the third quarter and had stopped paying interest and fees under those facilities. If the company’s creditors call in its debt, Leap said it would likely file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.



Entire contents © 2002 Crain Communications, Inc.



To: Michael Allard who wrote (2576)11/14/2002 12:12:40 PM
From: pcstel  Respond to of 2737
 
Plenty of bad news in todays report

The metrics continue to decline rapidly.

Net adds. 45,145
Gross Additions.. 246,197
Cost of Equipment... $58,603,000
Equipment Revenue... 11,162,000

Cost of Equipment per Gross Add. $238
Equipment Subsidy per Gross Add. $198

Very Ugly!
PCSTEL